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diff --git a/11865-0.txt b/11865-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fedfa07 --- /dev/null +++ b/11865-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1570 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11865 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 11865-h.htm or 11865-h.zip: + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/8/6/11865/11865-h/11865-h.htm) + or + (http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/1/1/8/6/11865/11865-h.zip) + + + + +THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION. + +Vol. 20, No. 564] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1832. [PRICE 2d. + + + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration: BELVOIR CASTLE.] + +Belvoir Castle, (or Bever, as it was formerly and is now sometimes +called,) in situation and aspect partly resembles "majestic Windsor." +It has a similar "princely brow," being placed upon an abrupt +elevation of a kind of natural cliff, forming the termination of a +peninsular hill, the basis of which is red grit stone, but now covered +with vegetable mould, well turfed by nature and art, and varied into +terraces of different elevation. It has been the seat of the noble +family of Manners for several generations; it claims the priority of +every other seat in the county wherein it is situate; and is one of +the most magnificent castellated structures in the kingdom. + +This castle, in some topographical works, is described as being in +Lincolnshire. Camden says, "In the west part of Kesteven, on the edge +of Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, there stands Belvoir Castle, so +called (whatever was its ancient name) from the fine prospect on a +steep hill, which seems the work of art." Burton expressly says +that it "is certainly in Lincolnshire," and the authors of _Magna +Britannia_ are of the same opinion; but Mr. Nichols, whose authority +on subjects of local history, respecting Leicestershire, is generally +decisive and satisfactory, states that "the castle is at present in +every respect considered as being within this county with all the +lands of the extra-parochial part of Belvoir thereto belonging, +(including the site of the Priory,[1]) consisting in the whole of +about 600 acres of wood, meadow, and pasture land; upon which are now +no buildings but the castle, with its offices and the inn. It would be +a difficult matter, notwithstanding, to trace out with accuracy, the +precise boundary of the two counties in this neighbourhood." + + [1] At Belvoir was formerly a priory of four black monks, + subordinate to the Abbey of St. Alban, in Hertfordshire, to which + it was annexed by its founder, Robert de Belvideir, or De Todenci, + in the time of William the Conqueror. It was dedicated to St. + Mary; and was valued, at the Dissolution, at £104 19s. 10d. per + annum. Dr. Stukely, in the year 1726, saw the coffin and bones of + the founder, who died in 1088, dug up in the Priory chapel, then + a stable and on a stone was inscribed in large letters, with lead + cast in them, ROBERT DE TODENE LE FVDEVR. Another coffin and + cover near it was likewise discovered with the following + inscription:--"The Vale of Bever, barren of wood, is large and + very plentiful of good corn and grass, and lieth in three shires, + Leicester, Lincoln, and much in Nottinghamshire." + +That Belvoir has been the site of a castle since the Norman Conquest +appears well established. Leland says, "The Castle of Belvoir standeth +in the utter part of that way of Leicestershire, on the nape of an +high hill, steep up each way, partly by nature, partly by working of +men's hands, as it may evidently be perceived. Whether there were any +castle there before the Conquest or no I am not sure, but surely I +think no rather than ye. Toteneius was the first inhabiter after the +Conquest. Then it came to Albeneius, and from Albeney to Ros." + +The Belvoir estate came into the Manners family, by the marriage of +Eleanor with Robert de Manners of Ethale, Northumberland. Eleanor was +the eldest sister of Edmund, Lord Ros, who resided at the manor-house +of Elsinges, in Enfield, Middlesex, where he died without issue in the +year 1508. His sisters became heiresses to the estates, and Belvoir +being part of the moiety of Eleanor, became the property of the +Manners family, who have continued to possess it to the present time. + +As the possessors of this castle and lordship have been chiefly +persons of considerable eminence, and many of them numbered among the +great men of history, it may be as well to interweave a few notices +of them with a brief chronological account of the noble structure. +Robert, the first Norman lord, died in 1088, and was buried in the +chapter-house of the Priory, where Dr. Stukely discovered the stone +already named, to his memory. "By a general survey taken at the +death of Robert, it appears that he was in possession of fourscore +lordships: many of which, by uninterrupted succession, continue still +to be the property of the Duke of Rutland. In Lincolnshire his domains +were still more numerous. In Northamptonshire he had nine lordships; +one of which, Stoke, acquired the additional name of Albini, when it +came into the possession of his son." William de Albini, son of the +above, succeeded to these lordships; and, like his father, was a +celebrated warrior: according to Matthew Paris, he valourously +distinguished himself at the battle of Tinchebrai, in Normandy, +September 27, 1106; where Henry I. encountered Robert Curthose, his +brother. This lord obtained from Henry the grant of an annual fair at +Belvoir, to be continued for eight days. During the changeful reigns +of Stephen and Henry II., the castle fell into the hands of the +crown, and was granted to Ranulph de Gernons, Earl of Chester; but +repossession was obtained by de Albini, who died here about the year +1155. William de Albini, (alias Meschines and Britto,) the next +possessor of Belvoir, endowed the Priory hero with certain lands, and, +in 1165, certified to Henry II. that he then held of him thirty-two +knights' fees under the old feoffments, whereby he was enfeoffed +in the time of Henry I. William de Albini, the third of that name, +accompanied Richard I. during his crusading reign, into Normandy: he +was also one of the sureties for King John, in his treaty of peace +with Philip of France. He was too, engaged in the barons' wars in the +latter reign, and was taken prisoner by the king's party at Rochester +Castle; his own castle at Belvoir also falling into the royal hands. +He was likewise one of the twenty-five barons, whose signatures were +attached to Magna Charta and the charter of Forests at Runnemede. This +lord richly endowed the priory of Belvoir, and founded and endowed a +hospital at Wassebridge, between Stamford and Uffingham, where he was +buried in 1236. Isabel, of the house of Albini, now married to Robert +de Ros, or Roos, baron of Hamlake, and thus carried the estates into a +new family. The bounds of the lordship of Belvoir, at this time, are +described by a document printed in Nichols's History. This new lord +obtained a license from Henry III. to hold a weekly market and annual +fair at Belvoir. He died in 1285, and his body was buried at Kirkham, +his bowels before the high altar at Belvoir, and his heart at Croxton +Abbey; it being a practice of that age for the corporeal remains of +eminent persons to be thus distributed after death. The next owner, +William de Ros was, in 1304, allowed to impark 100 acres under +the name of _Bever_ Park, which was appropriated solely to the +preservation of game. He died in 1317: his eldest son, William de Ros, +took the title of Baron Ros, of Hamlake, Werke, Belvoir, and Trusbut; +was Lord High Admiral of England, and sat in parliament from 11 Edw. +II. to 16 Edw. III; he died in 1342. Sir William de Ros, knight, was +Lord High Treasurer to Henry IV.; he died at the Castle in 1414, and +bequeathed 400_l._ "for finding ten honest chaplains to pray for his +soul, and the souls of his father, mother, brethren, sisters, &c." for +eight years within his chapel at Belvoir castle. John and William Ros, +the next owners, were distinguished in the wars of France; the former +was slain at Anjou; the latter died in 1431, and was succeeded by his +son, Edmund, an infant, who, on coming of age, engaged in the civil +wars of York and Lancaster: he was attainted in 1641, and his noble +possessions parcelled out by Edward IV; the honour, castle, and +lordship of Belvoir, with the park and all its members, and the rent +called castle-guard, (then an appurtenance to Belvoir,) being granted +in 1647, to Hastings the court corruptionist.[2] The attainder was, +however, repealed, and Edmund, Lord Ros re-obtained possession of all +his estates in 1483: he died at Enfield, and the estates then passed +into the Manners family, as we have stated. + + [2] "The Lord Ros took Henry the VIth's part against King Edward, + whereupon his lands were confiscated, and Belever Castle given in + keeping to Lord Hastings, who coming thither on a time to peruse + the ground, and to lie in the castle, was suddenly repelled by Mr. + Harrington, a man of power thereabouts, and friend to the Lord + Ros. Whereupon the Lord Hastings came thither another time with a + strong power, and upon a raging will spoiled the castle, defacing + the roofs, and taking the leads off them.--Then fell all the + castle to ruins, and the timber of the roofs uncovered, rotted + away, and the soil between the walls at the last grew full of + elders, and no habitation was there till that, of late days, the + Earl of Rutland hath made it fairer than ever it was."--_Leland_. + +George, eldest son of the above-named Robert Manners, succeeded to his +father's estates, including Belvoir: in his will, a copy of which is +given by Mr. Nichols, dated Oct. 6, 1513, he is styled "Sir George +Manners, knight, Lord Ros." He was interred, with his lady, in a +chantry chapel, founded by his father-in-law, Sir Thomas Ledger, in +the chapel of St. George, at Windsor. His son, Thomas, Lord Ros, +succeeded him, and was created by Henry VIII. a knight, and afterwards +Earl of Rutland, a title which had never before been conferred on +any person but of the blood royal. This nobleman aided Henry in the +dissolution of the monasteries, and for his zeal received from the +monarch several manors and estates. He caused many of the ancient +monuments of the Albinis and the Rosses to be removed from the priory +churches of Belvoir and Croxton to that of Bottesford. He also +restored and in part rebuilt the castle, which had been in ruins since +Hastings's attack. The state of the castle at this period is thus +described by Leland:--"It is a straunge sighte to se be how many +steppes of stone the way goith up from the village to the castel. +In the castel be two faire gates; and the dungeon is a faire rounde +towere now turned to pleasure, as a place to walk yn, and to se al +the counterye aboute, and raylid about the round (wall,) and a garden +(plotte) in the midle. There is also a welle of grete depth in the +castelle, and the spring thereof is very good." Henry, the second Bard +of Rutland, succeeded his father in 1543; and in 1556 was appointed +captain-general of all the forces then going to France, and commander +of the fleet, by Philip and Mary. Edward, the third earl, eldest son +of the former, succeeded in 1563: Camden calls him "a profound lawyer, +and a man accomplished with all polite learning." John, a colonel of +foot in the Irish wars, became fourth earl in 1587, and was followed +by his son Roger, the fifth earl, who dying without issue, his brother +Francis was nominated his heir, and made the sixth earl. He married +two wives, by the first of whom he had only one child, named +Catherine, who married George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham. +Her issue, George, the second Duke of Buckingham, dying without an +heir, the title of Lord Ros of Hamlake again reverted to the Rutland +family. By a second marriage he had two sons, who, according to the +monument, were murdered by wicked practice and sorcery.[3] George +was created seventh earl in 1632; and was honoured with a visit from +Charles I. at Belvoir castle, in 1634. The eighth earl was John +Manners, who attaching himself to the Parliamentarians, the castle was +attacked by the royal army, and lost and won again and again by each +party, till the earl being "put to great streights for the maintenance +of his family," petitioned the house of peers for relief, and Lord +Viscount Campden having been the principal instrument in the ruin of +the "castle, lands, and woods about Belvoyre," parliament agreed that +1,500l a year be paid out of Lord Campden's estate, until 5,000l +be levied, to the earl of Rutland. In the civil wars the castle was +defended for the king by the rector of Ashwell, co. Rutland. In 1649, +the parliament ordered it to be demolished; satisfaction was, however, +made to the earl, whose son rebuilt the castle after the Restoration. +John, the ninth earl, succeeded his father in 1679. He preferred the +baronial retirement and rural quiet of Belvoir, to the busy court; +though he was created Marquess of Granby, in the county of Nottingham, +and Duke of Rutland. He died in 1710-11, and was succeeded by his son +John;[4] whose eldest son became the third Duke of Rutland, and was +the last of the family who resided at Haddon, Derbyshire. He died in +1779, and was succeeded by his grandson, Charles, Lord Ros, fourth +duke, who died lord lieutenant of Ireland in 1787, when his son John +Henry, the present and fifth duke succeeded to the titles and estates. + + [3] As illustrative of the folly and superstition of the times, + it may be interesting to explain this. Joan Flower, and her two + daughters, who were servants at Belvoir Castle, having + been dismissed the family, in revenge, made use of all the + enchantments, spells, and charms, that were at that time supposed + to answer their malicious purposes. Henry, the eldest son, died + soon after their dismissal; but no suspicion of witchcraft arose + till five years after, when the three women, who are said to have + entered into a formal contract with the devil, were accused of + "murdering Henry Lord Ros by witchcraft, and torturing the Lord + Francis, his brother, and Lady Catharine, his sister." After + various examinations, before Francis Lord Willoughby, of Eresby, + and other magistrates, they were committed to Lincoln gaol. Joan + died at Ancaster, on her way thither, by wishing the bread and + butter she ate might choak her if guilty. The two daughters were + tried before Sir Henry Hobbert, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, + and Sir Edward Bromley, one of the Barons of Exchequer, confessed + their guilt, and were executed at Lincoln, March 11, 1618-19. + + [4] "The _great Marquess of Granby_" born in 1721, was the son of + this duke. During the rebellion he raised a regiment of foot. In + 1758, being lieutenant-general, he was sent into Germany, and + eminently distinguished himself under Prince Ferdinand of + Brunswick. He died in 1770, and was buried with his ancestors at + Bottesford, where, a few years since, there was no monumental + record of his name! + +It is now time to speak of the present magnificence of Belvoir. The +castle which surrounds a quadrangular court, occupies nearly the +summit of the hill, which is ascended by superb stone steps. On the +castle are mounted seven small pieces of cannon, which were presented +to the Duke of Rutland by George the Third; from these pieces 21 +rounds were fired Nov. 5, 1808, in commemoration of the Gunpowder +Plot. The view from the terraces and towers comprehends the whole vale +of Belvoir, and the adjoining country as far as Lincoln, including +twenty-two of the Duke of Rutland's manors. On the southern slope +of the hill are enclosed terraces, on which there are several +flower-gardens, surrounded by extensive shrubberies. The +kitchen-gardens extend to eight acres. The park is of great extent, +and contains fine forest trees which form a woodland beneath the hill, +so extensive as to afford shelter for innumerable rooks. There are +likewise thriving plantations, containing some remarkably fine young +oaks. + +Belvoir Castle has one of the most superb _interiors_ in the kingdom: +its furniture and decorations are of the most costly description. +It also contains one of the most valuable collections of paintings, +whether considered for the variety of schools, or the judicious choice +of the works of each master. Among those who have contributed to +this invaluable assemblage, are Poussin, Carlo Dolci, Guido, Claude +Lorraine, Salvator Rosa, Murillo, Reubens, Teniers, and Reynolds. +The collection was principally formed by John, the third duke, and +Charles, his successor, who were munificent patrons of the arts. All +the modern pictures, of which there are a considerable number, were +collected by the former duke. + +The last general repairs of Belvoir Castle are stated to have cost the +noble owner upwards of 60,000£. The structure has been more than once +extensively injured by fire. A conflagration there in October, 1816, +consumed a large portion of the ancient part of the castle, and +several of the pictures. Among them was Sir Joshua Reynolds's +_Nativity_, a composition of thirteen figures, and in dimensions 12 +feet by 18. This noble picture was purchased by the late Duke of +Rutland for 1,200 guineas. + + * * * * * + + +THE PAINTER'S LAST PASSION. + + + A hectic hue is on my feverish cheek, + And slowly throbs my pulse--but it will cease; + And cease, too, will the visions instinct, + Impalpable, and deep, that haunt my soul! + Death, who can dash the chalice from the lips + Of Pleasure's votary, and hush the lyre + While poetry is breathing on its strings; + Death, who can quench the spirit which portrays + Beauty's resemblance on the marble urn, + Will steep my feelings in oblivion's gloom, + Ere wintry winds disperse the sunny leaves + That cluster round the bosom of the rose. + But I have communed with enchanting shapes, + And felt the silver gush of many a song + Amid the air, until my spirit seem'd + Instinct with glorious draughts of paradise! + Mine eyes have scarcely closed their burning lids + For many a night; and I have watch'd the stars + That smiled upon me from the brow of heaven, + Like deep blue orbs familiar to my youth; + But now abstraction clouds me, and the fire-- + Ambition's fire--it can be nothing less-- + Deserts its lonely shrine; but I must give + The last bright touch to this bewitching form, + This pictured rainbow of my solitude! + I have invested her with loveliness + More pure than beings of the earth assume, + And Memory calls her beauteous image back + From the forgotten things of distant years, + Warm, eloquent, and holy, as the balm + Of flow'rs impearl'd with dew, which summer skies + Diffuse around--I mark the marble brow + Of polish'd symmetry, the eyes more blue + Than violets in their vernal bloom, the neck + Swanlike, and moulded with ethereal grace; + And feel their magic influence on my mind. + I will embody them, and give the stamp + Of fervid genius to their various charms, + Ere this last aspiration is extinct + In the unbroken slumbers of the tomb! + For I have had prophetic monitors + To warn me of my fate, and I must leave + All that is lovely in this lovely world. + + It is a summer eve--the sunbeams tinge + The glassy bosom of the quiet lake; + The music of the birds enchants the air, + And Nature's verdant robe is gemm'd with flow'rs. + From which the breeze derives its liquid balm. + Oh! in my youth, this hour has been to me + Bright as the fairy arch upon the clouds + Of earthly grief and gloom, and even now + It gives the silent fountain of my heart + A renovated action, and recalls + The energies that long ago were mine. + My fancy wanders as I thus portray + The lineaments on which 'tis bliss to gaze: + How beautiful their prototype! to whom + I breath'd in youth the most impassion'd words, + And felt as if Elysium had disclosed + Its glory to my eye--around this brow, + Stainless as marble, cluster golden curls + Like sunbeams on the bosom of the cloud, + And o'er the radiant azure orbs beneath, + The snowy lids suspend their glossy fringe. + Upon such beauty shall my pencil stamp + Its immortality, and make it seem + More beautiful in Fancy's softest glow; + And, my beloved! when this warm hand that traced + Thy pictured charms is mouldering in the dust, + Thou wilt proclaim the painter's mastery, + And consecrate the canvass with a power + Which shall defy the wasting hand of Time! + + G.R.C. + + * * * * * + + +PRESERVATION OF A HUMAN BODY. + + +In a vault under the Font of the Old Church of St. Dunstan in the +West, has lately been discovered the leaden coffin of a "Mr. Moody," +(without a Christian name,) who "died in the year 1747, aged 70 +years." After this interment of 85 years, the face was found not +decomposed, but perfect; the mouth extended--the teeth and eye-brows +unimpaired, and to the touch, the flesh solid (covered with a cloth) +and no appearance of worms; which puzzles the common opinion that such +insects prey upon the dead: + + "And food for worms brave Percy!" + +exclaimed Prince Henry over the expiring body of Hotspur. + +This observation was made by a person who saw the remains on the +8th of August, 1832, an older object by twelve years, and without +teeth,--a gum-biter! + +AN OLD INHABITANT OF CLIFFORD'S INN. + + * * * * * + + +THE ROSE OF THE CASTLE. + + + A summer morn, with all its golden light, + Gilded the snowy bosom of the cloud, + And robed the verdant earth with sunny hues. + The bees sang music to their passion-flow'rs, + The birds, with melody which seem'd to gush + From joyful hearts, entranced the crystal air; + But, spectre-like, the ancient castle frown'd + Over the deep, whose softly-rippling waves + Reflected its array of ruined towers. + In times of old, the gallant chiefs for whom + Its stately walls arose, the men who made + Their names a terror to the Saracen, + Adopted as their symbol in the field, + The rose--that flower of faction and of blood! + I saw it sculptured on the marble shield + Which graced the lofty gate, it was enroll'd + Among the records of departed days; + Over the hearth, upon the pictured crest + It met mine eye, and to my mind recall'd + The glorious deeds of England's chivalry. + + The Rose--it appear'd on the portal proud, + Which the ivy robed in its mournful shroud; + As the sunshine gleam'd in the silent hall + I traced its image upon the wall. + + Although the castle was old and grey, + And its summer of glory had pass'd away, + Though the roof had fall'n, and the walls sunk low, + The rose still smiled in the sunbeam's glow. + + But, oh! that symbol of purest faith + Had cheer'd the heart in the hour of death, + And shone triumphant o'er the brave + As they crush'd the power of the sceptred slave. + + It seem'd like a spell on the lips of all + Whom the trumpet call'd from their festive hall, + And the soldier to it upturn'd his eye + As he lay on the grassy turf to die. + + But it gleams no more on land or sea, + A star to the feudal chivalry! + On the silent hearth, and the ivied tower, + Hath it found a last forsaken bower. G.R.C. + + * * * * * + + + +RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS. + + * * * * * + +SPIRIT DRINKING. + + +(_TO THE EDITOR._) + + +Much as has been said about gin-drinking in the present times, it +would appear from the following curious extract, that our forefathers +(of the last century,) were more addicted to that pernicious custom, +than we are even in the nineteenth century:-- + +"Several of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the County of +Middlesex, having, in pursuance of an order of a former Quarter +Session, made an inquiry into the houses and places where Geneva and +other such pernicious distilled liquors are sold by retail, about this +time made their report; by which it appears, to the great surprise and +concern of those who have the trade and welfare of the public truly +at heart, that there are in the limits of Westminster, Holborn, the +Tower, and Finsbury divisions (exclusive of London and Southwark) +7,044 houses and shops, where the said liquors are publicly sold by +retail, (which in several parishes, is computed to be, at least, every +sixth house,) besides what is privately sold in garrets, cellars, +back-rooms, and other private places. + +"That of this number, no less than 2,105 are unlicensed; and that +Geneva is now sold, not only by distillers and Geneva shops, but by +above 80 other inferior trades; particularly chandlers, weavers, +tobacconists, shoemakers, carpenters, barbers, tailors, dyers, +labourers, &c. &c.; there being in the Hamlets of Bethnal Green, +upwards of 90 weavers who sell this liquor." + +"_JANUARY 20TH_, 1736." G.K. + + * * * * * + + +THE DEATH OF ADAM. + + +(_FROM THE GERMAN._) + + +When Adam was nine hundred and thirty years old, he felt in himself +the word of the judge, "Thou shalt die." Then spoke Adam to the +weeping Eve: "Let my sons come before me, that I may see and may bless +them." They all came at their father's word, and stood before him, +many hundred in number, and prayed for his life. "Who among you," said +the old man, "will go to the holy mountain? Very likely he may +find pity for me, and bring to me the fruit of the tree of life." +Immediately, all his sons offered themselves; and Seth, the most +pious, was chosen by his father for the message. He besprinkled his +head with ashes, hastened, and delayed not, until he stood before +the gate of Paradise. Then prayed he, "Let my father find pity, +kind-hearted one, and send to him fruit from the tree of life." +Quickly there stood the glittering cherub, and instead of the tree of +life, he held a twig of three leaves in his hand. "Carry this to thy +father," said he, friendly, "his last consolation is here; for eternal +life dwells not on the earth." Swiftly hastened Seth, threw himself +down, and said, "No fruit of the tree of life bring I to thee, +my father, only this twig has the angel given me, to be thy last +consolation here." The dying man took the twig, and was glad. He +smelled on it the fragrance of Paradise, and then was his soul +elevated: "Children," said he, "eternal life dwells not for us on the +earth; you must follow after me; but on these leaves I breathe the +refreshing air of another world." Then his eyes failed; his spirit +fled hence. + +Adam's children buried their father, and wept for him thirty days; but +Seth wept not. He planted the twig upon his father's grave, at the +head of the dead man, and named it the twig of the new life, of the +awakening up out of the sleep of death. The little twig grew up into a +high tree, and by it many of Adam's children strengthened themselves +with comfort of the other life. So it came to the following +generation. In the garden of David it blossomed fair, until his +infatuated son began to doubt on immortality; then withered the twig, +though its blossoms came among other nations. And as on a stem from +this tree, the restorer of immortality gave up his holy life; from it +the fragrance of the new life scattered itself around far among all +nations. W.G.C. + + * * * * * + + +ANCIENT NAVAL LAWS. + + +The laws made by Richard I. for the preservation of good order in his +fleet, when he was sailing to Palestine, were as follows:--He that +kills a man on board shall be tied to the body and thrown into the +sea. If he kills one on land he shall he buried with the same. If it +be proved that any one has drawn a knife to strike another, or has +drawn blood, he shall lose his hand. If he strike with his fist, +without effusion of blood, he shall be thrice plunged into the sea. If +a man insult another with opprobrious language, so often as he does +it, to give so many ounces of silver. A man convicted of theft, to +have his head shaved, and to be tarred and feathered on the head, and +to be left on the first land the ship shall come to. Richard appointed +officers to see these laws executed with rigour, _two of which +officers were bishops_. A.H.K.--T. + + * * * * * + + + +NOTES OF A READER + + +THE ATMOSPHERE.--CLIMATOLOGY. + + +_(FROM PART XIV. OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE PEOPLE; OR, THE PLAIN WHY AND +BECAUSE.)_ + +_Why may the atmosphere be termed a fourth kingdom of Nature?_ + +Because it extends its influence in an equal degree over the three +kingdoms, the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral, operates upon +each after a distinct manner, and appears rather to be independent, +and allied to all of them, than to be rightly included within any one. + +_Why is a knowledge of the atmosphere important to the naturalist?_ + +Because it serves to throw much light on the history and functions +both of the animal and vegetable creation; for it is through this +great medium that heat, light, electricity, oxygen, and the great +springs of vital phenomena, are conveyed to all classes of organized +matter. It is by means of this wonderful agent, that we gain the +theory of respiration in all classes of creatures possessing animal +life; and that we become acquainted with the migrations of animals, +as well as many of their peculiar instincts and habits. It is the +atmosphere that enables us to account for the periodical changes in +the plumage of birds and the furs of animals, and the variety of +colours to be found amongst them. By means also of the elasticity of +the atmosphere, sounds and odours are transmitted to sensitive beings. +Atmospherical phenomena, it may be safely inferred, attracted the +observation of mankind in the earliest ages: we know that the +Egyptians and the Greeks wrote upon the subject; the Jews too, a +pastoral people, "could discern the face of the sky;" and even in our +day, shepherds may be ranked among the weather-wise. "This is a fine +morning, a soft day, or a cold evening," are modes of salutation with +us, as commonly as is the "Salem Alikem" (Peace be with you!) amongst +the inhabitants of the more serene countries of the East. Shenstone +says, though with nearly equal spleen and truth: "there is nothing +more universally commended than a fine day: the reason is, that people +can commend it without envy." + +_Why do we call the atmosphere a fluid?_ + +Because it has a tendency to move in all directions, and consequently +rushes in and fills every space not previously occupied by a more +solid substance. Hence we find, that every cave, crevice, place, and +vessel, having communication with the atmosphere, if it be not filled +with something else, is filled with air; against which it is no +argument that we do not see it, as it is perfectly transparent, and +consequently invisible. + +_Why do birds fly?_ + +Because of the inertia of the atmosphere, which gives effect to their +wings. Were it possible for a bird to live without respiration, and in +a space void of air, it would no longer have the power of flight. The +plumage of the wings being spread, and acting with a broad surface +on the atmosphere beneath them, is resisted by the inertia of the +atmosphere, so that the air forms a falcrum, as it were, on which the +bird rises, by the leverage of its wings. + +_Why is air generally considered to be invisible?_ + +Because, though a coloured fluid, and naturally blue, its colour +acquires intensity only, or, in other words, becomes visible only, +from the depth of the transparent mass. According to rigid Newtonians, +air is transparent, or, rather, invisible; and the azure colour of the +atmosphere arises from the greater refrangibility of the blue rays of +light. Other philosophers imagine that the blue tint is inherent in +air; that is, that the particles of air have the property of producing +a blue colour, in their combination with light. + +_Why are the most distant objects in a prospect of a blue tinge?_ + +Because their colours are always tinted by the deepening hues of the +interjacent atmosphere. Again, the blending of the atmospheric azure +with the colours of the solar rays, produces those compound and +sometimes remarkable tints, with which the sky and clouds are +emblazoned. Hence, the mountains appear blue, not because that is +their colour, but because it is the colour of the medium through which +they are seen. + +_Why do the Heavens appear blue?_ + +Because of our looking at the dark vacuity beyond our atmosphere +through an illuminated medium. Were there no atmosphere, it is +universally admitted the appearance would be perfectly black, except +in the particular direction of the sun, or some other of the heavenly +bodies, and since the atmosphere is transparent, this blackness (if +such an expression may be used) must be seen through it, only somewhat +modified by the rays of light reflected by the atmosphere to the eye, +from the direction in which we look. For this reason, the clearer or +more transparent the atmosphere is, the darker is the appearance of +the heavens, there being then less light reflected by the atmosphere +to the eye. In the zenith, the appearance is always darker than nearer +the horizon; and from the tops of high mountains, the heavens in +the zenith appear nearly black.--_Mr. B. Hallowell, in the American +Journal of Science and Arts._ + +_Why does the heat of temperature of different parts of the earth +vary?_ + +Because of the position of the place with respect to the equator, or +rather to the ecliptic, or, more strictly still, with respect to the +plane in which the earth revolves around the sun; for on this relation +depends the temperature of the place, so far as it is produced, +directly, by the influence of the sun. Maltebrun ascribes to it the +following influences: 1, the action of the sun upon the atmosphere: 2, +the interior temperature of the globe: 3, the elevation of the earth +above the level of the ocean: 4, the general inclination of the +surface, and its local exposure: 5, the position of its mountains +relatively to the cardinal points: 6, the neighbourhood of great seas, +and their relative situation: 7, the geological nature of the soil: 8, +the degree of cultivation, and of population, at which a country has +arrived: 9, the prevalent winds. + +_Why are the strata of air upon all mountains of successive coldness?_ + +Because the air does not acquire immediately, by the passage of the +solar rays, a considerable degree of heat. Thus, with the elevation of +land, cold may be said to increase in very rapid progression. Winter +continues to reign on the Alps and the Pyrenees, while the flowers of +spring are covering the plains of northern France. This beneficent +appointment of Nature considerably increases the number of habitable +countries in the torrid zone. It is probable, that at the back of the +flat burning coasts of Guinea, there exist in the centre of Africa, +countries which enjoy a delightful temperature; as we see the vernal +valley of Quito, situate under the same latitude with the destructive +coasts of French Guyana, where the humid heat constantly cherishes the +seeds of disease. On the other hand, it is the continued elevation +of the ground, which, in the central parts of Asia, extends the cold +region to the 35th parallel of latitude, so that in ascending from +Bengal to Thibet, we imagine ourselves in a few days transported from +the equator to the pole.--_Maltebrun._ + +_Why does the destruction of forests sometimes prove beneficial to a +country?_ + +Because a freer circulation of air is thus procured--but carried too +far, it becomes a scourge which may desolate whole regions. We have +a sad example of this in the Cape de Verde islands, not to mention +others. It is the destruction of forests, and not a supposed cooling +of the globe, which has rendered the southern part of Iceland more +accessible to the dreadful cold which is too often produced by those +masses of floating ice which are intercepted and detained by its +northern coasts.--Ibid. + +_Why do mountains influence climates?_ + +Because, although they cannot prevent the general motions of the +atmosphere from taking place, they may, by stopping them in part, +render particular winds more or less frequent throughout a certain +extent of country. Maltebrun observes, there cannot be a doubt that +the Alps contribute in securing to Italy its delightful and happy +climate, its perpetual spring, and its double harvests. + + * * * * * + + + +THE NATURALIST. + + +THE TOAD FISH. + + + [We quote these interesting details from a paper on the Sargasso + Weed, or gulf weed, with which a certain part of the Atlantic + Ocean is generally covered, and amongst which Toad Fish are + found. The reason of the weed accumulating has given rise to much + difference of opinion, which is the main subject of the above + communication, by Mr. Benet, of Bulstrode-street, to the _Naval + Magazine_[5]] + + [5] We are happy to perceive that the above journal rises + in interest and value as it proceeds; and merits all the + encouragement our notice of its first appearance may have induced + our readers to confer upon it. + +[Illustration: Toad Fish] + +The figure represents one of those fishes to which, on account of +their uncouth appearance, the name of Toad Fish has been popularly +given. Under this denomination there have been included many very +dissimilar kinds, extreme ugliness being held as alone sufficient for +the establishment of an undeniable claim to the title. The present +fish, and those nearly related to it, advance, however, peculiar +claims to the appellation. Their belly and side fins are borne upon +supports which project from the body in the semblance of limbs, their +similarity to which is increased by the jointed form they acquire at +the point of union of the fin with its support, and still farther +by the finger-like appearance of the rays of these fins, which are +unconnected by membrane at their tips. This curious structure imparts +to these fishes not only somewhat of the outward form of a quadruped, +but also a portion of its habits, and they are, accordingly, capable +of crawling like toads among the sea-weeds and rocks which they +usually inhabit; the side fins, which are placed farther back than +those of the belly, performing on each occasion the functions of +hinder feet. Nor is this mode of locomotion confined to the water +alone; it may, also, be exercised by them on land, for their +gill-openings are so small, that evaporation takes place but slowly +from within them, and thus the gills are kept moistened, and the +circulation of the blood is preserved, even out of the water, for two +or three days. So remarkable a deviation from the usual appearance and +habits of the class to which they belong, has naturally caused them to +be regarded as objects of curiosity; and it is recorded, that living +specimens have been successfully transported from the East to Holland, +where they have been sold at considerable prices. + +The fishes of this genus, to which Commerson gave the name of +Antennarius, (on account of the filament which they possess on the +forehead,) are met with in the sea of warm climates, in the east as +well as in the west. They subsist chiefly on small crabs, to surprise +which they hide themselves among the sea-weed, or behind stones. Their +flesh is said not to be edible; it may, perhaps, have been rejected, +on account of their disgusting appearance, and is certainly too small +in quantity to allow of its being important as an article of food. +In swimming, they usually gulp down air, and, thus distending their +capacious stomachs, enlarge themselves into a rounded half-floating +mass, much in the same manner as the globe of balloon fishes. Their +nearest affinity is to the fishes known as anglers, with which +they agree in the form of their gill-openings and fins, and in +the possession of filaments on the head; but the monstrously +disproportioned head of the anglers, which is depressed from +above downwards, and the enormous opening of their mouth, readily +distinguish them from the Toad Fishes, whose head is of moderate size, +and, like their bodies, compressed laterally. They are either smooth +or variously hairy or bristly, and are always destitute of the regular +scales with which fishes are generally invested. They are furnished, +especially on the lips and the under parts, with numerous short, loose +processes of skin, which add considerably to their sense of touch. +There is great variety in the different kinds in the length of the +filament on the head, and its termination is still more varied; in +some it is almost simple, as though formed of a single undilated hair; +in others, it is surmounted by a small, dense, globular mass of short +filaments; and in others again, it has two, or even three large fleshy +processes at its end, not unlike the baits which terminate the fishing +filaments of the anglers. + +In the species figured, the Antennarius Iaevigatus, the skin is +smooth, and furnished with short loose processes; the filament on the +head is short, and terminated by a small knob of clustered minute +filaments; this is succeeded by two other processes, each resembling +a fin supported by a single ray, and fringed, especially towards its +upper part, by loose portions of skin; to these succeed the back fin, +supported, as usual, by many rays. The colour is pale, irregularly +blotched, spotted, and streaked with brown, the markings varying +considerably in different individuals; it is also dotted irregularly +with white. By these characters it may be known from the other species +of the genus, with which it appears to have been associated by +Linnaeus, under the common name of Lophius Histrio. It was first +scientifically distinguished by M. Bosc, a French naturalist, who +observed it, on his voyage to America, among the Sargasso weed: he +described and figured it, not without some imperfections, in the +Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle. It has since been figured, +but not described, by Dr. Mitchell in the Transactions of the New York +Society; and one very nearly resembling it has been described by Mr. +Bennett with a figure, in the Geological Journal. The genus to which +it belongs is most completely treated of by M. Cuvier, in the Memoires +du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. + + * * * * * + + + +SELECT BIOGRAPHY + + +[Illustration: Cuvier] + + +Cuvier, the great naturalist, paid the debt of nature in May last, +after a life devoted to science with an unwearied application and a +success exceeded by none in modern times. He was born at Montbelliard +in 1769, a year which gave to so many remarkable men--a Napoleon--a +Chateaubriand--a Wellington--a Humboldt, &c. and his first discoveries +were on the Mollusca, and shook to its base the zoological +classification which then universally prevailed. + +Invited to Paris to fill the place of Professor of Comparative Anatomy +at the _Jardin des Plantes_, his lectures speedily drew crowds around +him, attracted by his popular eloquence and lucid arrangement. His +next work, _Lecons d'Anatomie Comparee_, 1805, was rewarded by the +Institute with the decennial prize for the work which had contributed +the most to our knowledge of the Natural Sciences during that period. +At the same period he published a series of Memoirs on the Anatomy of +the Mollusca, and devoted his attention to a detailed examination +of the fossil remains of the bones of mammiferous animals; he +particularly examined the numerous fossils in the environs of Paris, +assisted in the geological part of his task by his friend M. A. +Brogniart. The sagacity and accuracy which M. Cuvier displayed in the +examination of fossil bones, raised this branch of inquiry to the +dignity of a perfectly new science, which has thrown a powerful light +on geology, and directed it into a more philosophical route. A +number of works and of elaborate memoirs published since by various +naturalists, have shown the prodigious influence which the labours of +Cuvier have exercised on the study of geology, of the animal kingdom, +and even of fossil botany. M. Cuvier amused himself during these +laborious works by particular researches which would alone have been +sufficient to have distinguished any other man, such as his five +Memoirs on the Voice of Birds, on Crocodiles, and on numerous subjects +of zoology; such also as his descriptions of the living animals in +the menagerie, &c. In all his works, even to the minutest details, +we discover the same luminous, clear, and methodical mind, and the +sagacity which characterized him. Feeling the want of a work +which should present a general view of his ideas on zoological +classification, he published in 1817 his work entitled _Le Regne +Animal distribue d'après son Organisation_, in 4 vols, 8vo. which +speedily became the text-book of all zoological students. When +employed on this work he felt how far in arrear of the other branches +of zoology was that which respects the class of fish, and saw how much +difficulty had accumulated in it, as well from our ignorance of the +anatomy of these animals, and the impossibility of determining with +precision the laws of their comparative organization, as from the want +of large collections, and perhaps also from the too artificial spirit +which had hitherto prevailed in ichthyology. He employed his influence +to form a collection in the Paris Museum of specimens of fish from all +parts of the world, and was so successful in his endeavours that the +number of specimens which at first scarcely amounted to 1,000, in a +few years amounted to 6,000. Of these he dissected a large portion +with a care hitherto unknown, having the advantage of an able +associate in the study of the details in M. Valenciennes; he was thus +enabled in a period of time that may be called short, looking to the +extent of the results, to collect the materials of his great _Histoire +Naturelle des Poissons_, of which eight volumes have appeared, with +their appropriate plates, and for the continuation of which we have to +look to his laborious assistant. The recent embarrassment among the +Paris publishers having occasioned a stoppage in the progress of this +work, M. Cuvier availed himself of this (as the part prepared for the +press was already in advance of the printer) to make preparations +for republishing his _Lecons d'Anotomie Comparee_, of which a second +edition had been long anxiously called for. This design, however, he +was not permitted to complete; but it is to be hoped that we shall not +be long deprived of the edition he had contemplated, and that it will +be accompanied with those beautiful and accurate plates on which he +had bestowed so much pains, and in the execution of which he himself +excelled; for he was a skilful draftsman, and seized external forms +with rapidity and accuracy, and possessed the art of representing +in his drawings the forms of organic tissues in a style peculiar to +himself. His last course of lectures, on the History of the Natural +Sciences, and on the Philosophy of Natural History, delivered at the +College of France, is now publishing in livraisons, and will extend +to three or four vols, 8vo. This work, however, we believe, has been +published without his consent or revision. His memory was prodigious, +and he scarcely knew what it was to forget anything. Although his +great powers were more particularly devoted to natural history, no +part of science was a stranger to him, and his taste for literature +and works of imagination was particularly refined and elegant. In his +_Eloges_ of illustrious men, delivered in his capacity of perpetual +secretary of the Academy of Sciences, he always displays the utmost +impartiality and love of truth; he never debased the dignity +of science by any love of intrigue, and displayed the utmost +disinterestedness in his efforts to promote science. The qualities +of his heart were not less estimable than those of his head, and he +possessed the happy art of inspiring his friends with an unalterable +attachment. His conversation was varied and animated, adapted by turns +to every subject, and he may truly be said to have been the grace and +ornament of society. We must not forget the great services he rendered +to public education as head of the University; his Report on the +State of Primary Education in Holland is a lasting monument of his +solicitude for the education of the people, and all those who have +observed his conduct with regard to the higher branches of education, +know how constantly his influence was directed to favour their +progress and to remove obstacles. In other departments of the civil +service into which he was successively called, as Master of Requests, +Counsellor of State, President of the Section of the Interior, +Director of Protestant Worship, (for he was an enlightened and liberal +Protestant, and watched over the interests of his co-religionists with +constant solicitude,) and at last as a Peer of France--in all these he +displayed the same superiority of talent. The office of Censor of the +Press, which was offered to him, he, to his eternal honour, refused. +Such was the man whose loss the world has now to deplore: but the mind +that traced her age and history--in the wrecks of ages dug from her +bosom--will live for ever in his works to enlighten and instruct +mankind.--_Foreign Quarterly Review._ + +Cuvier is said to have died of a paralytic affection of the +oesophagus. His body was examined by several eminent pathologists: +his brain is stated to have presented a mass of extraordinary volume, +weighing three pounds thirteen and a half ounces; a fact which will +be treasured up by contemporary phrenologists as evidence of Cuvier's +great intellectual capabilities. + +[Cuvier was Professor of Geology in the College of France. The chair, +vacant by his death, has just been filled by the appointment of +M. Elie Beaumont, celebrated for his investigation of mountain +formations.] + + * * * * * + + + +NEW BOOKS + + +LEGENDS OF THE RHINE. + + + [These are three novel-sized volumes from the prolific pen of Mr. + Grattan, whose _Highways and Byeways_ have probably started off + hundreds of scribbling tourists to the Continent, much to the + annoyance of the keepers of old castles and other necromantic + haunts. These Legends, however, have little to do with the Rhine, + which is perhaps fortunate for their success, as most of the + traditionary stories of the romantic river have been dished up in + as many forms and fashions as French cooks are accustomed to serve + up eggs. A few of our Correspondents have tried their taste, + but we hope not the reader's patience, in _Rhin_-onomy; and Mr. + Planché, moreover, has wandered and sailed up and down the + district, picking to new van its mystic stories in every form + common to our literature. We have enjoyed every inch of the stream + and its banks, coloured after nature, in a panorama on paper, to + put into your pocket or portmanteau; and just now Views on the + Rhine are publishing in sixpenny portions, and becoming as little + rare as Views on the Thames; till we may as well say thick as + leaves on the Rhine, as in Vallainbrosa. + + Mr. Grattan's Legends are stated to be freely adapted from the + literature of the countries where the scenes are laid. They + consist of some ten or dozen stories of untiring length but too + much for entire extract. For the sake of some delightfully + graphic writing we are induced to quote a portion of one of the + tales--_The Curse of the Black Lady_, a legend of the twelfth + century. The scene lies in the Low Countries, and introduces an + admirably-drawn portrait of a knight of the period.] + +The Castle of the Countess of Hainault at Mons was a complete specimen +of the splendid architecture of the twelfth century, or that which +is now called Gothic; pointed windows abounding in coloured glass, +unpolished marble, heavy wooden doors, thickly studded with iron +nails, leading into immense corridors, interminable passages, and +branching staircases. + +It was early in a morning of the month of February, that the horn of a +knight was heard beyond the castle wall, and immediately replied to +by the warder; and when the draw-bridge was slowly replaced and the +portcullis heavily withdrawn, a knight followed by a squire, whose +surcoat bore the Flander's lion, entered. The cap of the knight was +of black velvet, and slight bars of steel, bent into the form of a +semicircle, crossed each other at the top of his head and served at +once for defence and for ornament. His boots of thick leather reaching +almost to the knees bespoke him an inhabitant of a maritime country, +having spurs formed of a single point of iron, long and obtuse, and +these being gilt would have announced the wearer's rank in chivalry, +even if his whole equipment and bearing had not proclaimed his right +to the deference with which he was received. As he dismounted from his +horse, he threw off the large mantle, not unlike the military cloaks +of our days, and discovered the knightly armour, which showed to +peculiar advantage his powerful limbs. A straight black tunic without +sleeves descended to his knees. It was fastened by a silver girdle, +from which depended on one side a strong sword, and on the other a +dagger, the richly wrought handle of which seemed to declare it of +Turkish make. His arms and hands were covered with a steel tissue, +sitting close and so flexible that it yielded lightly to every motion. +The squire who followed him was old, and a certain familiarity was +mingled with the respect of his manner, and seemed to declare that he +had been long accustomed to his master. In truth he had served +the father of our knight, and the latter had grown up beneath his +attendance, which had not unfrequently become his protection. His +armour, far from adorning his person, scarcely left a human figure +visible beneath its heavy plates of iron, fastened by nails whose +monstrous heads seemed cast in the same mould with those which +strengthened the heavy oak doors of the palace. His helmet seemed the +section of a water-pipe of cast iron. Visor it had none; but in its +place was a plate or bar of iron descending from the forehead to the +chin, almost touching the nose and mouth, and he had a group of arms +suspended from his saddle. It was Sir Guy de Dampierre and his squire. + +The seneschal conducted them with much ceremony to the knight's +apartments in the castle, where a small table placed by the side of an +enormous log-fire in the middle of the room, and plentifully furnished +with cold salted and dried meats, together with the thin wines of +France, and the more potent juice of the German grape, soon made him +forget the cold and thirst he had endured in the forest. The beer he +quaffed with peculiar pleasure, as it invitingly foamed in a silver +tankard, which had been thickly embossed by the abbot of Wansfort, and +presented by him to the Emperor Baldwin previous to his embarkation +for the Holy Land. + +Having praised the flavour of the beer and helped himself to some +slices from a well cured wild boar's head, he said to the chamberlain, +"And Baldwin of Avesnes is not yet arrived, you say?" + +"No, Count," replied the chamberlain; "we expected he would be with +you." + +"Why, my road lay through Namur, and he comes directly from Bruges. I +marvel therefore he be not arrived--and I have news for him," said the +knight. + + [The next page includes a passing notice of the _introduction of + chimneys_ into England, referable, though not without dispute, to + this date:--] + +The warder's horn was again heard; and after due time the person in +question made his appearance. He looked harassed and fatigued, and +gladly took the seat Count Guy pointed to, close by his own, and +having stirred the logs which burned lazily in the huge hearth, he +observed, "Methinks the wood emits this sulphureous vapour more +strongly than ever. I marvel, Guy, that you have not repaid the +compliment of the English king's invitation to your weavers, by +bringing over workmen to build you some of those long narrow passages +which, beginning just over the fire, project from the top of the house +to carry off the smoke." + +"What mean you, Baldwin?" + +"Nay, have you not heard that in England they are beginning to build +along the end of the rooms, lodges or troughs to contain the fuel, on +the base of which they raise a brick funnel, through which all the +smoke mounts and so evaporates at the top of the house?" replied +Baldwin. + +"Think you then, d'Avesnes, that the whole room can be warmed with the +fire at one end of it, particularly if the smoke be carried out?" + +"Indeed they say," replied d'Avesnes, "it casts a strong heat +everywhere." + + ["The Black Lady" is thus characterised:--"They speak of her as + one entirely destitute of natural sensibility; they hint at some + dark practices, and they designate her so frequently by the + epithet of the 'Black Lady,' that many, both in Hainault and + Flanders, are ignorant that this is not really her title." Here + follows a whole-length portrait of this specimen of black-letter + majesty.] + +In the tapestried room into which the brothers were conducted, sat +the Black Lady of Brabant on a throne elevated considerably above +the floor. The dais was covered with the same rich tapestry as the +hangings which covered the walls, for even in this early age Bruges +was celebrated for such manufactures. The draperies of the throne were +of purple velvet fringed with gold, with a canopy and curtains of the +same rich materials, the latter being looped back with a massive cord +and tassels. The constable supported one side of the throne, and +the seneschal the other. Below these were the cup-bearer and grand +huntsman. Six pages were placed about the steps of the throne, and +the same number of ladies in waiting were also there. Yet Marguerite +herself wanted not the surrounding magnificence to mark her superior +dignity of "Countess by the grace of God," then accorded to only one +county besides her own; for there was a sort of fearful majesty about +her towering height, unbowed either by the weight of years (and she +had already passed what the Psalmist has declared to be the age of +man) or luxurious indulgence. Her face was pale and marked by deep +furrows, indicating an unlimited indulgence of the strong passions +which had rendered her life so unquiet. Her eye was black, and +retained all the fire of lively feeling, yet it was sunken. Her +forehead was low, yet there was an inflexibility of resolve in +its deep lines that added much to the majestic character of her +appearance. Her teeth too were perfect, and her thin and colourless +lips left them visible to attract the painful admiration excited by +their contrast with the unlovely expression of her features; her chin +was small. Her hair was all drawn from her face to the crown of her +head and concealed under the black lace veil, which concealing the +upper part of her forehead, fell over each shoulder even to her feet. +Her upper garment was a long mantle of black velvet lined with ermine, +which, opening in front, fell over the arms of her throne, and +discovered a dress of crimson cloth of Bruges of that beautiful sort +called _ecarlate_. The boddice was drawn tightly to her shape by +rich gold cord, the ends of which, finished by heavy tassels, fell +downwards to the edge of her robe. The crimson tunic reached only to +her knees, and discovered an under dress of white Syrian silk, on +which was a border of gold, evidently of oriental workmanship. Her +hard bust was covered by many rows of the finest Asiatic pearls, and +depending from her girdle was a rosary of jet, which sustained a +richly embossed golden cross, probably enshrining a piece of wood of +the true cross from Palestine. The small gold crown which circled +her brows, and the sceptre she held, were evidently made by the same +skilful artist--probably the work of the celebrated Erembert, Abbot +of Wansfort. Her arms, which notwithstanding her towering statue were +disproportionably long, were covered by sleeves of the finest Bruges +linen, which however only appeared at the shoulders and elbows, the +rest of the arm being covered with the crimson cloth which formed the +tunic, and these were laced with gold cord down to the waist, where +the Bruges linen formed a cuff. Her form was harsh and bony, and no +grace of motion relieved its outlines; for she was so fearfully still, +you might have thought the living form had been placed in sight of the +Gorgon's head and so transformed to stone. Her features seemed alike +immovable, all sunk into a dark, fixed, and settled discontent with +life. + + * * * * * + + +THE BRITISH MUSEUM. + + + [This is the seventeenth volume of the _Library of Entertaining + Knowledge_; and, like the majority of its predecessors, it aims + at rendering popular, and of obvious interest, subjects which had + hitherto been abstruse and uninviting. It is the first of a series + of volumes to be published on the Antiquities of the British + Museum, so as in some measure to set them free from their national + imprisonment; for such we must term any assemblage of works of art + (the property of the country), which are not unconditionally open + to public inspection. + + The portion before us is the first of two volumes devoted to + the Egyptian Antiquities in the Museum. It has been diligently + compiled; and rendered more interesting than would be a bare + account of what the Museum contains, by correct notices generally + "of the history of art among the Egyptians." The best authorities + have been consulted and acknowledged, as Hamilton, Heeren, Gau, + and Belzoni, and the more recent labours of Mr. James Burton. + The whole is attractively arranged in chapters; on the Physical + Character of Egypt; Political Sketch of Ancient Egypt, and the + monuments of the respective divisions of the country. We subjoin + an extract, containing a graphic outline of _Thebes_:] + +We pass by Kennéh, on the east bank, from which travellers may go to +Cosseir to embark on the Red Sea; we hasten by the remains of Kouft, +the ancient Coptos, and the solitary propylon of Kous, standing alone +without its temple,--to the plain of Thebes, to the most wonderful +assemblage of ruins on the face of the earth. + +All travellers agree that it is impossible to describe the effect +produced by the colossal remains of this ancient capital; nor does it +lie within our plan to attempt this description at present any farther +than is necessary to make our readers acquainted with the general +character and localities of the existing temples of Egypt. + +No knowledge of antiquity, no long-cherished associations, no +searching after something to admire, is necessary here. The wonders of +Thebes rise before the astonished spectator like the creations of some +superior power. "It appeared to me," says Belzoni, "like entering +a city of giants, who, after a long conflict, were all destroyed, +leaving the ruins of their various temples as the only proofs of their +former existence." Denon's description of the first view of Thebes by +the French army, which he accompanied in the expedition into Upper +Egypt, is singularly characteristic. "On turning the point of a chain +of mountains which forms a kind of promontory, we saw all at once +ancient Thebes in its full extent--that Thebes whose magnitude has +been pictured to us by a single word in Homer, _hundred-gated_, a +poetical and unmeaning expression which has been so confidently +repeated ever since. This city, described in a few pages dictated +to Herodotus by Egyptian priests, which succeeding authors have +copied--renowned for numerous kings, who, through their wisdom, have +been elevated to the rank of gods; for laws which have been revered +without being known; for sciences which have been confided to proud +and mysterious inscriptions, wise and earliest monuments of the arts +which time has respected;--this sanctuary, abandoned, desolated +through barbarism, and surrendered to the desert from which it was +won; this city, shrouded in the veil of mystery by which even colossi +are magnified: this remote city, which imagination has only caught a +glimpse of through the darkness of time,--was still so gigantic an +apparition, that at the site of its scattered ruins, the army halted +of its own accord, and the soldiers, with one spontaneous movement, +clapped their hands." It is, however, rather unfortunate for Denon's +description, that another traveller denies that there is such an +approach to Thebes as is mentioned in the extract, and he assures us +that the ruins cannot be seen till the traveller comes near them; and +further, that to produce such astonishing effects as the Frenchman +describes, we ought to be _very_ near them or _among_ them. Without +pretending to reconcile these contradictions, we can readily believe +that the ruins may produce a considerable effect, even at some +distance, if Denon's drawings are at all correct. As to the impression +made by a near inspection of these wonderful remains, there is no +discrepancy among travellers. + +Thebes lay on each side of the river, and extended also on both sides +as far as the mountains. The tombs, which are on the western side, +reach even into the limits of the desert. Four principal villages +stand on the site of this ancient city,--Luxor and Carnak on the +eastern, Gournou and Medinet-Abou on the western side. The temple of +Luxor is very near the river, and there is here a good ancient jettée, +well built of bricks. The entrance to this temple is through a +magnificent propylon, or gateway, facing the north, 200 feet in front, +and 57 feet high above the present level of the soil. Before the +gateway stand the two most perfect obelisks that exist, formed, as +usual, of the red granite of Syene, and each about 80 feet high, +and from 8 to 10 feet wide at the base. Travellers differ in their +estimate of the width of the base, some, perhaps, taking the actual +measure on the surface of the soil while others may make allowance +for that part that is buried; for that the soil is much elevated will +appear from what follows: "Between these obelisks and the propylon are +two colossal statutes, also of red granite; from the difference of +the dresses it is judged that one was a male, the other a female, +figure;--they are nearly of equal sizes. Though buried in the ground +to the chest, they still measure 21 and 22 feet from thence to the top +of the mitre." Another cause of discrepancy in the measurements +may be, that the adjacent sides of the obelisks are of different +dimensions; which is generally the case. + +It is this gateway that is filled with those remarkable sculptures, +which represent the triumph of some ancient monarch of Egypt over an +Asiatic enemy, and which we find repeated, both on other monuments of +Thebes, and partly also on some of the monuments of Nubia, as, for +example, at Ipsambul. This event appears to have formed an epoch +in Egyptian history, and to have furnished materials both for the +historian and the sculptor, like the war of Troy to the Grecian poet. +The whole length of this temple is about 800 feet. + +But the remains of Carnak, about one mile and a quarter lower down the +river, are still more wonderful than Luxor: one of the buildings is +probably the temple of Ammon, which we know from Diodoius was on this +side of the river. An irregular avenue of sphinxes, considerably +more than a mile in length (about 6,560 feet), connected the northern +entrance of the temple of Luxor with it; but this was only one +of several proud approaches to perhaps the largest assemblage of +buildings that ever was erected. For a minute description of Carnak +we must refer to the plans in the great French work, and to Dr. +Richardson's and Mr. Hamilton's accounts. The irregularities in the +structure and approaches of this building show that the various parts +of it were raised at different periods, for indeed it would have been +impossible for any one sovereign to have completed such a monument in +his life-time; and we know, also, that the great temple at Memphis +received numerous additions during a long succession of ages. Some +parts, both of this temple and of the larger building at Carnak +(sometimes called a palace), have been constructed out of the +materials of earlier buildings, as we see from blocks of stone being +occasionally placed with inverted hieroglyphics. It is impossible +without good drawings and very long descriptions, to give anything +like an adequate idea of the enormous remains of Carnak, among which +we find a hall whose roof of flat stones is sustained by more than +130 pillars, some 26 feet, and others as much as 34 feet, in +circumference. The remains on the western side of the river are, +perhaps, more interesting than those on the east. That nearly all +the monuments of Thebes belong to a period anterior to the Persian +conquest, B.C. 525, and that among them we must look for the oldest +and most genuine specimens of Egyptian art, is clear, both from the +character of the monuments themselves and from historical records; nor +is this conviction weakened by finding the name of Alexander twice on +part of the buildings at Carnak, which will prove no more than that +a chamber might have been added to the temple and inscribed with his +name; or that it was not unusual for the priests to flatter conquerors +or conquerors' deputies by carving on stone the name of their new +master. Thebes was the centre of Egyptian power and commerce, probably +long before Memphis grew into importance, or before the Delta was made +suitable to the purposes of husbandry by the cutting of canals and the +raising of embankments. + + [In a note to this passage, it is stated that "Herodotus has given + no description of Thebes. Denon several times quotes Herodotus + for what is not in that author. But this is so common, even with + people who have claims to scholarship, that it has become almost + a fashion to say that any thing is in Herodotus." So that the + audience of Lord Goderich with the late King, as described in the + _Edinburgh Review_, in the Herodotean (or _says_ he and _says + she_) dialect, is no great license.] + + [The volume is profusely embellished.] + + * * * * * + + + +THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. + + +ERRORS OF THE DAY. + + +The devoutest believers in "the march of intellect" must at intervals +be almost driven to renounce their creed in despair. Errors which were +supposed to have been exploded centuries ago, sometimes reappear on a +sudden, and propagate themselves for a season with a rapidity which no +reasoning can pursue, no ridicule arrest. Notions, worthy only of the +dark ages, spring up in the glare of the supposed illumination of the +present day, and resist all the efforts of the Briarean press itself +to dispel them. At one time, it is a pious Hungarian prince who +performs preternatural cures, at the request of the friends of the +sick parties in Ireland, conveyed through that droll medium for a +miracle, the Hamburg letter-bag! At another, it is an old dropsical +impostor, whom thousands of blaspheming dupes venerate as a second +virgin quick of a new Messiah! A short time since animal magnetism +was in vogue; and the strong will of certain gifted individuals was +believed to have the power of entering into a mystical communication +with the spirits of others, and of absolutely controlling their whole +physical and mental being! To-day we are startled by the actual +exhibition of a miracle, the "unknown tongue," on alternate Sundays, +at the Caledonian Chapel in Regent Square, London! If at any time we +are tempted to plume ourselves on the fact, that the belief in ghosts +and witchcraft has disappeared, we are quickly humiliated by the +recollection that there are yet thousands of devout believers in +the prophecies of Francis Moore, physician; or by overhearing the +rhapsodies of some millenarian dreamer, who as confidently gives us +the date of the opening of the New Jerusalem as if he were speaking of +the New London Bridge.--_Quarterly Review_. + + * * * * * + + +PUBLIC CREDIT. + + +It is physically impossible to carry on the commerce of the civilized +world by the aid of a _purely_ metallic currency--no, not though our +gold and silver coins were every tenth year debased to a tenth! Why, +in London alone, five millions of money are daily exchanged at the +Clearing-house, in the course of a few hours. We should like to +see the attempt made to bring this infinity of transactions to a +settlement in coined money. Credit money, in some shape or other, +always has, and must have, performed the part of a circulating +medium to a very considerable extent. And (by one of those wonderful +compensatory processes which so frequently claim the admiration of +every investigator of civil, as well as of physical economy) there +is in the nature of credit an elasticity which causes it, when left +unshackled by law, to adapt itself to the necessities of commerce, and +the legitimate demands of the market. Well may the productive classes +exclaim to those who persist in legislating on the subject, and are +not content without determining who may, and who may not, give credit +to another, what kind of monied obligations shall, or shall not, be +allowed to circulate--that is, to be taken in exchange for goods at +the option of the parties--well might they exclaim, as the merchants +of Paris did to the minister of Louis, when he asked what his master +could do for them--"Laissez nous faire,"--"Leave us alone, to surround +ourselves with those precautions which experience will suggest and the +instinct of self-preservation put in execution."--_Ibid_. + + * * * * * + + +HOARDING MONEY. + + +There can be no doubt too that "_hoarding_" coin goes on to a +considerable extent, and greatly augments the scarcity, and +consequently the value of the precious metals. Even the old practice +of "making a stocking" is by no means given up in rural districts. We +ourselves, but a few days back, personally witnessed an old crone, +the wife of a small, and apparently poor farmer, in a wild pastoral +district, bring no less than three hundred sovereigns in a bag to a +neighbouring attorney, to be placed by him in security: her treasure +having accumulated till she was afraid to keep it longer at home. Such +examples are by no means so rare as may be imagined. The failures of +so many country banks in 1825 destroyed the confidence of country +people in the bank-notes of the present banks, and causes their +preference of gold. The failure of many attorneys, as well as of those +country banks which received and gave interest on deposits, and (with +the exception of the savings banks, which are very limited in the +amount of the deposits they allow) the total absence, in the rural +districts of England, of any safe and accessible depositaries for the +savings of the economical, such as the invaluable Scotch banks, +have tended most injuriously to discourage economy; and where that +principle was strongly ingrafted, have converted it into a practice of +hoarding,--have caused that to stagnate in unprofitable masses which, +spread through proper channels, would have stimulated new industry and +new accumulations, and added both to the wealth of the owner, and to +the general stock.--_Ibid_. + + * * * * * + + +INVENTION OF PRINTING. + + + [Our Correspondent, W.M. of the Regent's Park, should read the + following announcement, which supersedes the necessity of printing + his communication. At least, we do not feel ourselves justified in + doing so, without reference to the undernamed German work.] + +It is proposed to erect a monument in Mentz, by public subscription +and support of all nations, to Gutenberg, the great inventor of the +art of printing, and to celebrate the immortal discovery in a grand +and becoming style. The erection is to take place in 1836, being the +fourth centenary anniversary of the great achievement, for it is +capable of historic proof that Gutenberg communicated his discovery of +movable letters to some friends at Strasburg in 1436, to which city he +had retired on account of some disturbances in his native place: vide +Schaab's _Geschichte der Erfinding der Buchdruckerkunst_, Mainz, +1831, 3 vols. 8vo. The subscriptions and support, in particular, of +printers, booksellers, authors and literary bodies, is solicited. +Kings and princes, in behalf of the best interests of their subjects +and of civilization, it is hoped, will not be backward to support so +noble a design. The public will be informed, from time to time, +by means of the daily papers and journals, of the progress of the +subscription, for which the smallest sums will be received, and the +names of the donors entered in a book kept by the Corporation +of Mentz, to which all communications are requested to be +addressed.--_Foreign Quarterly Review_. + + * * * * * + + +GOETHE + + +A medal, in commemoration of Goethe, has been struck at Berlin. On one +side is the portrait of the deceased, by the celebrated Leonard Posch, +crowned with laurel, bearing the inscription Jo. W. DE GOETHE NAT. +XXVIII AUG. MDCCXXXXIX. The likeness was taken a few years ago at +Weimar, and has been universally admired for its accuracy. On the +reverse is represented the Poet's Apotheosis. A swan bears him on his +wings to the starry regions, that appear expanded above, and to which +the Poet, having a golden lyre in his left arm, extends his right arm +with longing gaze. On this side is the inscription AD ASTRA REDIIT D. +XXII MART. MDCCCXXXIL--_Ibid_. + + * * * * * + + + +THE GATHERER. + + +_ Wilkes's Luckiest Number_.--A rich farmer in Devonshire made a will, +in which the following article was found:--"I bequeath to John +Wilkes, late member of parliament for Aylesbury, five thousand pounds +sterling, as a grateful return for the courage with which he defended +the liberty of his country, and opposed the dangerous progress of +arbitrary power." + +_Owen's Alms-houses, Islington_, were founded by Dame Alice Owen, in +consequence of a providential escape. In the fields, near this spot, +in the reign of Queen Mary, the archers frequently exercised with bows +and arrows. Dame Owen walking with her maid, and observing a woman +milking a cow, was desirous of trying to milk the cow herself, which +she did, when on leaving the cow, an arrow pierced the crown of her +hat, without doing her the least injury. In gratitude for her escape, +she built the school and houses. For many years an arrow was fixed on +the top of them. SWAINE. + +_Origin of Tory_.--Our friend, Mr. George Olaus Borrow, who has +devoted his attention specially to the Celtic dialect, suggests that +the long-disputed etymology of the word Tory may be traced to the +Irish adherents of Charles II., during the Cromwellian era. The words +_Tar a Ri_ (pronounced _Tory_,) and meaning _Come, O King_, having +been so constantly in the mouths of the Royalists as to have become +a by-word to designate them. Mr. Borrow's paper on the subject has +appeared in the _Norfolk Chronicle_. + +_Toast_.--May the man who wins a woman's heart never be instrumental +in breaking its peace. + + _Progress of Life_. + + When man full thirty years has spent, + The road at times both rough and stony, + To clear life's vapour, and repent + He seeks the stream of Matrimony! + +_Caught at last_.--Sir Jervis Elwayes, lieutenant of the Tower, being +much addicted to gaming, used to say, in his prayers, "Lord, let me +hanged, if ever I play more." He broke this serious prayer a thousand +times, and at last was hanged on Tower Hill, in 1615, for the murder +of Sir Thomas Overbury. + +Edward the Confessor took great delight in Haverley Bower, in Essex, +it being woody, solitary, and fit for devotion; but it so abounded +with warbling nightingales, that they disturbed him in his devotions. +He earnestly prayed for their absence, since which time it is +superstitiously said, never nightingale was heard to sing in the park, +though occasionally the warbler is heard outside the pales. + +_Wages_.--In 1352, (25th Edward III.) the wages paid to haymakers was +1d. a-day; a mower of meadows, 3d. a-day, or 5d. an acre; reapers of +corn in the first week of August, 2d., in the second 3d. per day, and +so on till the end of August, without meat, drink, or other allowance; +finding their own tools. For threshing a quarter of wheat or rye, +2-1/2d.; a quarter of barley, beans, peas, and oats, 1-1/2d. A master +carpenter, 3d. per day, other carpenters 2d. A master mason 4d. per +day, other masons 3_d_., and their servants 1-1/2d. per day. Tilers +3d., and their "knaves" 1-1/2d. Thatchers 3d. a-day, and their knaves +1-1/2d. Plasterers, and other workers of mud walls and their knaves +in like manner, without meat or drink, and this from Easter to +Michaelmas; and from that time less, according to the direction of the +justices. T. GILL. + +_Literary Quizzing_.--Of all human quizzing, ancient and modern, +plebeian or patrician, nothing equals that now in triumphant practice +in the lists of literature. From Zoilus to the penny newspapers, never +has there been criticism, penned or spoken, so bitterly pungent as +some of the grave laudatory articles, by which authors are now quizzed +down to zero in the popular reviews. Satan Montgomery is bantered with +the name of Isaiah; Miss Landon by a comparison with La Rochefoucault; +and Don Trueba, with Pigault le Brun. This is a refinement in cruelty. +It is twining the rack with flowers; and hanging a man with a cord of +gold. The sentence of the reviewer should be "Yea, yea; and nay, nay!" +A Barmecide's feast of fame is a supererogation of malice. We hold +that all authors so derided have a right to call upon their critics +to make good their words; and build up the visionary castles of their +_Fata Morgana_, (like London Bridge in the nursery song) with "gravel +and stone;" or rather, "with silver and gold." A heavy mulct should be +imposed on literary quizzing.--_Tait's Edinburgh Magazine_. + +_Cross Readings_, (_from the Spanish_.)--Suddenly King Alphonso +Riberro Fernando rose from his couch, and sallying from his tent with +fierce looks and sword in hand--swore the total annihilation of every +bug in the Castiles. + +And the king with great despatch, forthwith ordered a strong body of +cavalry, for--there was a mouse scratching behind the wainscot. + +So the queen, Mary, rising majestically from her throne, with +imperial, yet gentle look, exclaimed in a sweet voice--"Scratch Poll's +head." + +There was a goodly array of gay knights following the king to the +hunt--the rats being numerous they afforded good sport. + +These specimens of Spanish satire came out in the form of +cross-readings, a few months after the death of Cervantes; they were +affirmed to be by that illustrious author; how truly so I know not. +R.N. + +_Cannon Clock_.--In the gardens of the Palais Royal and the +Luxembourg, at Paris, is a specimen of this contrivance invented by +one Rousseau. A burning-glass is fixed over the vent of a cannon, so +that the sun's rays, at the moment of its passing the meridian, are +concentrated by the glass, on the priming, and the piece is fired. The +burning-glass is regulated, for this purpose, every month. + + * * * * * + +_Printed and published by J. LIMBIRD, 143, Strand, (near Somerset +House,) London; sold by ERNEST FLEISCHER, 626, New Market, Leipsic; +G.G. BENNIS, 55, Rue Neuve, St. Augustin, Paris; and by all Newsmen +and Booksellers_. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 11865 *** |